Monthly Archives: August 2014

Oak Park is a community in Sacramento that has had its share of downfalls. In the early 1900s, the economy was booming there due to the strong community there and the proximity to the historic California State Fair site. By the 1960s, though, the community started to decline and poverty started to rise as a result of the freeway expansion. Families moved out to the suburbs and by the 80s and 90s, gang violence and street crime were daily occurrences.

So, when my good friend told me she was moving there, I was a little anxious. But as it turns out, the sense of community is coming back. There’s good coffee, good food, good clothes and of course, good beer. Last night, we went to Gather – a street festival in Oak Park – for the first time, and it was evident that Oak Park is definitely back on the rise. The street was lined with food vendors like Thai Basil and clothing vendors like Ana Apple, a local business I have followed for some time, and a craft beer selection that was curated by Beers in Sacramento.

Image from Beers in Sac

I’m a little sad that I learned about Beers in Sacramento when I was well into my second pregnancy, but now that I think about it – that’s probably a good thing. It’s a relatively new app that serves as a guide to where craft beers are served around Sacramento. Their motto is “We find the beer so you don’t have to.” The app offers an interactive map and up-to-date beer event calendar.

Through their website, I learned of Farm to Glass CA: A short film from Beers in Sacramento that documents the push to bring hops back to CA, since the majority of hops are sourced elsewhere. The film features United Hop Farm – a farm in CA that supplies brewers with local hops

Image from Oak Park Brewing Company

While at Gather, we saw a few people walking around with Oak Park Brewing Company shirts on. Since Oak Park is such a small community and my friends and I had never seen such a place, we did some research (AKA: went on Facebook) and learned that it’s a new brewery, restaurant and beer garden that is opening in either late September or early October! They are renovating an old building that has been vacant for some time, and it will be a huge boost to both the Oak Park economy and community.

At this point in my life, I don’t drink to party and/or get drunk. I’m a huge craft beer advocate because I simply enjoy drinking good beer. And even though I’m taking a break for a while, I’m really excited to these new additions to the Sacramento craft beer scene.

My mom lives in Tahoe Park, an area of Sacramento that doesn’t see much action. Unlike Midtown, it’s streets aren’t lined with hip bars, quaint coffee shops or expensive boutiques that pretend they aren’t expensive. There’s a Starbucks and a Target.

However, things look they are going to change. A popular Midtown breakfast/brunch restaurant Bacon and Butteris opening up on 59th and Broadway – a few streets down from my mom’s house. And right next to that is R 2nd Chance, a new thrift store that opened up a few weeks ago.

My mom and I first walked down there after we had our yard sale a couple weeks ago to see if they took any donations. They not only take donations, but they will give you a 30% off coupon when you donate! Anything they don’t need will go to either Goodwill or Salvation Army and 49% of their proceeds goes to the theater and track/field departments at Sacramento Sate.

I’ve donated twice so far, the first time we got this haul plus a PJ set for my nephew for $12! Oh, and two men who worked there came to our car and took everything in for us. It was wonderful.

The next time, I got this beautiful toy chest for Cecilia for $16, which after searching online for what seems like eternity, I know is a steal. It has the soft close which the vintage chests don’t and it has space so her fingers won’t get smashed. I’m going to sand it, paint it and use chalk paint on the flat top so she can get all creative up in there.

When I first saw the chest, it wasn’t closing properly so one of the employees took it to his workshop and fixed it for me on the spot. I can’t say the same about the majority of thrift shops I’ve visited. All of the employees are nice and welcoming, and the owner has an infectious bubbly personality.

She says that they are getting in donations, but they still need a lot more. They have a ton of clothes, shoes and some of your basic houseware stuff. Not a whole lot of furniture or kids clothes, which they probably looking for. She’s working out a deal with the Bacon & Butter owner to hopefully offer specials for their customers!

So, if you live in Sacramento and have stuff to donate, head over there. You’ll know where the proceeds are going, and you’ll get a great deal on some more loot. What’s your favorite thrift store like? Share in the comments and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google + and Pinterest!

Dresses and I just do not mix. I love them to death, and if I find the rare A-line dress that actually fits my body frame then I will buy it with a quickness, but other than that – nope. Now that I need to accommodate my ever-growing bump, it’s harder to find a dress that will fit on both the top and bottom, they always end up being baggy on top and I look disheveled. Like, more than usual. Cue in: the high-waisted skirt! The answer to all my “pear shape” wishes.

I’m not sure where the author of Love Taza got her skirt, but the others are either homemade or thrifted, which I love. Obviously, making an outfit can cost just about as much as buying it, if you have to purchase a pattern and get the fabric. But you get to customize it to your liking. If you have any mama style inspiration you would like to share, post it in the comments and connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google + and Pinterest! Have a lovely week!

I love finding new things almost as much as I love making them. At this point, probably equally as much I as love making them. And as I’ve said before, I’m lucky that I don’t have to go much further than my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest feed to find something that excites and inspires me.

So, today I’m going to try something a little different and share a new DIY, handmade/small business and food find. Be it a new DIY project or blog; a new handmade item/shop or small business; recipe or a new spot to check out – I want to share it with you. It might not be new, or new to you even, but it’s new to me, so it must be new to someone else too, right?

DIY Find:

Image from Delightfully Tacky

DIY Hand Painted Travel Mug from Delightfully Tacky – Around Christmas time last year, we had just thrown a huge extravaganza for our daughter’s first birthday (because, you know, she’ll totally remember it) and didn’t have a major budget for gifts. I made a few personalized coffee mugs with Sharpies, and while they are permanent on just about everything, coffee mugs are an exclusion. She used a thrifted coffee mug and Pebeo Porcelaine paint markers, which I’m sure work better for this project than Sharpie. I’m excited to try this out again, and if it works…it looks like I’ll be making some more mugs this year!

Handmade/Small Business Find:

Image from Nell and Mary

I have been following the Renegade Craft Fair on Instagram for some time now, just in case I actually get a chance to attend one. I love when they have makers take over their Instagram account for a day to give people an inside look at how they run their business. Yesterday was Nell and Mary‘s turn and I loved all of their photos. They are a design studio in Portland that makes totes, pouches, tea towels, napkins, aprons and pillows. They also have a clothing line called Make it Good that is equally lovely. Another stop to put on my Portland Bucket List.

Food Find:

If there is one thing I can say about Sacramento, there is never a shortage of places to eat. And it feels like new restaurants are popping up every time I turn around. I visit Midtown at least once I week and I swear every time I do, there’s a new spot. That could be a slight exaggeration.

Photo from Sactown Magazine

I’m not a huge seafood fan, aside from sushi. And even then, I like it either tempura-fried or filled with cream cheese. My boyfriend, however, loves seafood and is constantly on the hunt for some good fish tacos. So when I saw someone post about Wahoo’s, I needed to find out more. According to the article in Sactown Magazine, its 18th and L location is the first in the Sacramento area. Wahoo’s features an eclectic menu with influences from Mexico, Brazil and Asia, and has plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. I’m in!

Image from The Parlor Ice Cream Puffs

And because my sweet tooth just cannot be tamed, there is The Parlor Ice Cream Puffs. Yes, you read that right – they put ice cream in the middle of puff pastries. The one in the photo is an apple fritter ice cream puff with Midnight in Paris ice cream (coffee and nutella). My mom and I already have plans to visit this weekend.

Before we even made a bid on the house we are living in, we were already scouring the world wide web for ideas on how we wanted our dream house to look. To be honest, I was already pinning home ideas long before I knew we would be buying a house. Luckily, we agreed on pretty much everything we looked at and the biggest thing we had in common is that we wanted a vintage farmhouse kitchen. Like everyone else in the world, it seems.

From the white subway tile to the butcher block counters and large farmhouse sink. From the open shelving to the mint cabinets. It all just feels so comfortable and lived in. That’s what I want. I don’t want a kitchen where I would be afraid to make a mess. I don’t need shiny counters, I want counters I can work on. Now that we are finally here and the dream is feeling more real, it’s time to really think about how we want our kitchen to look.

I want to share some of the inspiration I’ve found, and since I’m lucky enough to have so, so, so much to share, I figured I would break it up into categories. Today, I’m sharing general kitchen inspiration – how I want the kitchen to look as a whole. Then I will get more and more specific as the weeks go on. Man, this really makes me want to start demolition today.

Ah, the kitchen that started it all. Now, I’m not sure this is technically classified as farmhouse style, but this is what gave me the idea that I wanted a vintage style kitchen. I love the colors and the open shelving. And of course, I’m totally loving on that oven. I would go with a different floor and different bottom cabinets, but it’s still pretty damn dreamy. I’m not sure where this photo came from as it was directly uploaded to Pinterest. So if anybody knows, please fill me in!

Image from Better Homes & Garden

Just about everything in this cottage kitchen from Better Homes & Garden is just what we want. The subway tile, the cabinet colors, the mix of open and closed cabinets and of course, that gorgeous sink. We’re doing concrete counters with one butcher block counter, but everything else is exactly what we have in mind.

Image from Shawn St. Peter

Here’s another beautiful kitchen with our color scheme. This 1901 kitchen remodel in Portland was designed by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design and it’s featured on houzz. The coolest thing about this is that if you click on the houzz link, you can get the info on different items in the photo. Like, the paint color used here is Van Alen Green HC-120 by Benjamin Moore. BOOM! It was beautifully done and looks like it could be lived in.

Image from This Old House

Something a little different. This warm and bright bungalow kitchen was featured on This Old House and while I can’t stop thinking about how hard it would be to keep all that open shelving clean, I’m just so in love. It’s homey without being too cluttered and I love the simple mixture of colors and vintage accents. And I’ve decided that I’m just destined to have a 1950s O’Keefe and Merritt stove. Just need to find a stove and get it restored – should be easy and pretty inexpensive, right?

I hope you will continue to join me as we work on our little nest. Next week, I’ll be sharing some different cabinet and shelving inspiration. If you have anything to share, please post in the comments and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google + and Pinterest.

This dress started out as a skirt that I got for one dollar when I was visiting Tahoe City years ago. I was not a fan of how it fit as a skirt, so I yanked that sucker up and put a belt on it, and voila! It was a cute dress. It has remained one of my favorite dresses for all of these years, and I get compliments on it every time I wear it.

The best thing about this dress is that it’s multi-purposed and also works as a maternity dress! Hooray! I just had to move the belt up a little and BAM! A maternity dress was made. I have a few skirts that I have turned into dresses, and I will say that you have to use the right material to make this work. Another skirt I have is made with a little thinner material, and bunches up too much when I made it into a dress and the belt also slips a lot, regardless of how tight I make it.

The posse is never far

I also like that it’s long enough that I’m not uncomfortable wearing it. I have a hard time with maxi dresses because they are too long and mama doesn’t wear heels – or any elevated shoes, for that matter. And most summer dresses I have tried on are too short, especially when the bump is increasing in size. So for me, this dress is perfect.

The next time you are at a thrift store and see some awesome skirts that are a little too long for your liking, try to hike them up and dress it up with a belt. It will work with maternity and beyond! Just make sure that the top is elastic and it’s flows, so you can twirl when you’re wearing it, of course.